


Next door

by edourado



Series: Hell's Kitchen Chronicles [108]
Category: The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Drabble, Established, F/M, Ficlet, Fluff, implied - Freeform, its up to you, kastle - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-26
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-06-16 09:21:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15433917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edourado/pseuds/edourado
Summary: Her neighbor hsa a crush on her





	Next door

**Author's Note:**

> I'm in the middle of moving, posting the things I've posted on Tumblr and not here. One more to go

One of her neighbors has a crush on her.

It’s not the first time he sees the guy, all bright eyed and stupid smile at the sight of her.

“Hey Miss Karen!” He greets, skateboard in hand, that tattoo Frank doesn’t like at all on his neck, another on his hand, a 19 year old Chinese thug project reduced to a little boy when Karen smiles at him.

“Hi, Tao! How are you?”

“Good, good, thanks. You, um, you coming home from work?”

“Yes, tough day.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Maybe I’ll pick, like, a flower for you or something, to make you feel better.”

The stuttery attempt at smooth talk has Frank rolling his eyes.

She turns to him after fishing her keys from her purse and tilts her head.

“You know what? That  _would_  make me feel better, actually.”

“Yeah? Oh man, say no more, it’s done, then!”

She smiles and Frank stares at the kid, who, in turn, stares at Karen.

“Don’t go out of your way, though.”

“No, no, for sure, don’t worry about it!”

Frank wants to tell him to stand up straight and stop smiling like that, he looks like an idiot.

“I’ll look out for it, then. Good night, Tao.”

“Night, Miss Karen! Hey, man”. This second part directed at Frank, with barely even a glance. And he doesn’t bother responding, Karen opens the door and they walk in, and the kid is left on the hallway looking like he smoked 10 joints at once.

“Could you please not do that?” Karen asks when Frank closes and locks the door behind them.

“Do what?”

“Stare him down like that, he’s just a kid.”

“I don’t like him”, he makes it clear, hanging his coat on the hook by the door while she walks to the kitchen, abandoning her heels on the way.

“You don’t like anyone.”

“He has a crush on you, you know?”

“Yes, Frank”, she says, opening the fridge and taking a bottle of wine from it, setting it on the counter. She had a difficult day, it was a red wine kind of night. “So what?”

“I don’t know. There’s something about that kid. He’s looking for trouble.”

“Well”, she says, reaching inside a cupboard and retrieving a big, fancy looking glass. Her hair is up on a messy bun, her shirt is not so neatly tucked inside her skirt anymore, having moved during the day. “Don’t you worry. You’re the only trouble maker that I like.”


End file.
